


Promises

by Aaronlisa



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-27
Updated: 2011-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-28 06:03:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/304532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaronlisa/pseuds/Aaronlisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Finn dumps her again, Rachel winds up seeking comfort from Jesse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dunderklumpen](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=dunderklumpen).



> Set during Season Three of Glee.

Finn dumps her on a Tuesday and by Friday of the same week, he's back with Quinn. And somehow it shouldn't really surprise her because even she's lost count on how many times they've broken up and Finn's wound up back with Quinn. But it still feels like a knife in her stomach when she watches them waltz from Spanish class to math class, arm in arm, Quinn's perfect blond hair bounces as Finn stares down at her with some goofy expression on his face.

Rachel doesn't make a conscious decision to skip the rest of classes, she just does. She finds herself in her car, speeding away from McKinley with some annoying 1980s rock ballad pouring from her speakers. She should change the channel, find something more suited to her taste, but it seems that if she does, then she'll have to admit that she's probably lost Finn for good.

She's not quite sure how she winds up parking her car in Carmel High's parking lot and making her way towards the theatre. There's a part of her that wonders if she knew before anyone else that _he_ had come back Ohio is part of the reason why Finn dumped her. But she doesn't see why Finn can't accept the fact that a part of her life will constantly orbit around Jesse St James. Just because she somehow knows his schedule and knows that she'll find him in the auditorium alone, shouldn't be grounds for Finn to break up with her.

There's a fine line between knowing something and actually following up on it. And until today, she had no desire to see Jesse St James. Unless it was wiping his smug expression off of his face for good when New Directions wins Nationals this year. Now Finn's gone and changed everything and all Rachel wants from her former boyfriend is an ego boost.

 

* * *

She watches as he sings and dances on the stage. Rachel wonders if he misses UCLA, if he desperately craves New York and the stages there. She can't help but wonder what she'll do if her dreams fall short once she graduates from high school. A shudder runs down her spine and she feels vaguely sick. Her momentary distraction is probably what allows Jesse to sneak up on her unawares.

Rachel feels silly when she squeals but there's something about Jesse that makes her blush even when he hasn't snuck up on her.

"Let me guess, Hudson dumped you."

"What would make you think that? I could have dumped him."

She takes his hand when he offers it and lets Jesse guide her towards the stage. Even if she's upset that he'd automatically assume that Finn's dumped her. It doesn't matter that Finn has, it just matters that no one is surprised by the turn of events.

"Rachel, you're not the type of girl who dumps a guy," Jesse says.

"I dumped you," Rachel points out.

"Actually you didn't," Jesse says as he spins her about. "You found out about Shelby's plan and we fizzled out."

"I would have dumped you, if you hadn't come back here."

"Don't be stubborn, Rachel. The point is, you're not the girl to dump the boy you've pined for since you laid eyes on him."

"I _could_ have dumped him," Rachel says.

"Maybe," Jesse replies.

They fall into some dance routine that Rachel vaguely recognizes as being from some old black and white film. She thinks about asking if they're practicing a routine that he plans on using for his team but she decides to forget about glee. If she really spends too much time thinking on it, she'll realize that it doesn't matter and she doesn't want that.

"Why are you here?" Jesse finally asks.

"I don't know."

The answer is honest and she can tell that it hurts Jesse. She wonders if he was hurt by her refusal to respond to his messages on Facebook and his texts. She wonders if he understands how fragile Finn's ego was and if he found out that she had been communicating with him. Well it was bad enough that Finn found out that she knew Jesse was back in town.

"That's not really a good answer. Are you here to prove a point to Hudson or to yourself?"

"I don't know," Rachel says as she pulls away from him.

The stage at Carmel High feels different than the one at McKinley does. It reminds her of being on stage with Kurt in New York with the _Wicked_ back drop behind them. She sighs as she sits down and hangs her legs over the edge of the stage. Jesse sits down beside her, despite being close to her, she can't help but feel as if there are miles and miles keeping them apart.

"I didn't really intend on coming here, I just got so mad when I saw Finn and Quinn together," Rachel admits.

She's happy when Jesse doesn't say anything. Instead he wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer to him. She's grateful when he doesn't start telling her how she can do better than Finn Hudson or how she should be relieved that he's ended things with her before things got complicated. Maybe Jesse's right when he tells her that she's not the type of girl to dump a guy even if the writing's on the wall for everyone to see.

"I know that Finn and I weren't destined to be together forever, but it still hurts," Rachel admits.

"Of course, it does."

There's no smugness in his voice, just simple understanding. She realizes that she came here because he's the only who might actually _get_ her. It just makes her sadder to realize that this man, a former boyfriend, sometimes adversary and she's not quite sure what he is but she knows that they're not friends, understands her more than her actual friends do.

"Will it get better?"

"Yeah," Jesse says. "You won't always feel like he's stomping on your heart on purpose every time you see him with her."

There's some undefined emotion in his voice that makes her wonder if that's how he felt when he watched Finn kiss her during Nationals last year. She's never been certain of how Jesse actually feels about her. He's a far better actor than he gives himself credit for. It'd be easy to believe that he actually wants her even while he goes about betraying her.

"I just thought that Finn was different."

"Rachel, he's a teenage boy."

"So, I am sure that you were different."

Jesse laughs at her comment. "Rachel Berry, I was the worse."

They fall silent as they sit there. His arm tightly wrapped around her shoulders and her head resting on her shoulder. She can't help but wonder why they can't always be like this.

"What are you doing after Nationals?" Rachel finally asks.

"I don't know," Jesse says.

He sounds younger than he is and she can't help but wonder how he got so turned around. Jesse's talented and he's not stupid. But somehow UCLA took away all of his confidence until he came running back home. She hopes that New York won't do the same to her.

"You could come to New York with me."

"Thanks but I don't need the pity," Jesse tells her as he stands up.

She misses the comfort of his arm around her. He looks at his watch and then looks back at her.

"My team will be here soon. I don't think they'll take it very well if you're still here."

"Jesse," Rachel says.

He interrupts her before she can continue. "Look Rachel, you want me there now but in a few months, you won't. Knowing your precious Finn, he'll somehow manage to patch things up with you and you'll regret asking me along for the ride."

"It's not like that Jesse," Rachel says as she stamps her foot against the stage.

"Yeah it is," Jesse flatly says. "I've accepted it and that's okay."

There's a finality in his words and he leaves her no other choice but to leave. Yet somehow she can't help but think that she feels worse than she did when she first came. When she's in her car, she sends him a text message.

 _You're wrong._

His text comes five minutes after she had hit send on her phone.

 _Come back after Nationals and we'll see who's wrong then._

She knows that he has a right to think that things will play out like they have in the past and she'll be with Finn again. But Rachel decides that no matter what, she's not going to take Finn back. She's tired of the way their relationship always plays out. She's tired of one minute being at the top and the next being on the side watching as he kisses Quinn. She doesn't tell Jesse all of this in her text. Instead it's simple and to the point.

 _If I am right, then you're coming to New York with me. Ohio doesn't deserve you._

He doesn't respond to her text message and Rachel heads back to McKinley. She refuses to let Quinn think she's won something by not attending glee practice. Rachel will show them all how bright she can shine regardless of what Finn Hudson does or who he dates. Jesse's text message comes during her own glee practice when she's being forced to watch Quinn and Finn butcher some love song.

 _I doubt you'll be right, but if you're still single when VA wins Nationals, then I'll go to New York with you._

She smirks at his message. Only Jesse would think that he has half a chance at getting his team to Nationals. The show choir rumor mill has been busy circulating how far Vocal Adrenaline has fallen. She doesn't respond to his text message but she looks forward to Nationals with a renewed vigor. Not only is she going to prove to Jesse that she's right but she's also going to take great delight in winning this year.

 

((END))


End file.
